The twentieth century, it is safe to say, has made all of us into deep historical pessimists.— Francis Fukuyama
It’s the end of the world as we know itAnd I feel fine. — R.E.M.
Does anyone else feel, against their better judgment, a slight twinge of nostalgia for the…
James Brooke-Smith
James Brooke-Smith teaches English literature at the University of Ottawa. His most recent book is Accelerate!: A History of the 1990s.
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James Brooke-Smith
When a conversation becomes a monologue, poked along with tiny cattle-prod questions, it isn’t a conversation any more. — Barbara Walters
The black and white footage begins with a medium profile shot of the subject, who sits in an executive-style leather chair. A female voice asks a question from off-screen to the left: “Mr. McLuhan, do you like TV?” As the University of Toronto professor starts to…
What do Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk have in common, other than being powerful white men? They have all defended their hiring choices on grounds of meritocracy. In 2017, Trump claimed he had selected his overwhelmingly white, male cabinet entirely based on talent. Trudeau recently defended the appointment of six federal judges in New Brunswick with close ties to the Liberal Party as “merit-based.” Musk has repeatedly cast his…